Exploring Life & Business with Kristin Stevenson of Body Solutions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Stevenson.

Kristin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started out as a competitive ski racer from a young age and went to college to ski but ended up in a knee surgery from a soccer injury. I remember through all my competitive years of injuries and training, I was always upset about the lack of “seeing” the athlete as a whole. Their unique genetic makeup, their journey, their goals, the emotional roller coaster that frames their fascial system, and maybe most importantly their fears. I wanted to eventually create a practice that encompassed all of this to create long lasting healing and spectacular results. When an athlete feels fully in control of their body (especially after an injury) they are unstoppable.
After doing my 5 year Kinesiology/pre-med undergrad program, completing the ATC program and working all over the world for athletic teams I settled into the world of Pilates and owning studios as well as creating, writing and teaching the in depth world of rehabilitative Pilates incorporating more of the Kinesiology aspects of it rather than just the fitness version of it. After 20 years in Steamboat Springs working with my sister at our Pilates/rehab/fitness business I recently moved to Fort Collins, CO and have launched my new company “Body Solutions”. I see clients learning to walk again to olympic and college athletes and everything in between.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a woman in a male dominated athletic training field in the 90’s of course had its challenges. I had many days of not believing I could do what the job demanded with the high pressure situations, making constant quick confident high pressure moment decisions, and endless criticism. It’s a true sink or swim profession and looking back I’m so grateful I chose to keep swimming. Eventually you find your feet hitting the ground. By digging deep, finding hard earned confidence in yourself and truly investing in what you know you have the ability to do will always pay off. I put this philosophy in all my creative rehabs with my clients whether they are a professional athletes or someone struggling to walk. We are all worthy of being heard and healed and with the right tools and approach everyone finds they do in fact have some extra grit left inside waiting to be ignited.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Body Solutions?
I am a Kinesiologist. This is the all encompassing study of movement. Over 30 years of seeing most injuries under the sun and watching what pain can do to a person physically, emotionally and spiritually evoked a passion in me to find more unique approaches than cookie cutter insurance driven treatments that weren’t always getting it done.
I believe it’s hard to really understand what is going on with someone’s injuries or their body in general if you can’t spend more than 15 min of “therapeutic massage” time (which is all insurance based treatment allows) to feel the patterns and let the body tell you where each end of the pull or misalignment is. Every wrong pull on a body has two endpoints and you have to treat both not just the end where the symptom is showing up. Our body tells a story and it wants to heal and can show us how if we just listen. It’s about finding and addressing the root causes to have long lasting relief. If I want, and truly believe that my clients can live whole heartedly without pain then I owe it to them to not treat them segmentally. I’m proud of the immense success I’ve had with this. Watching someone feel so broken then seeing their light come back is one of the greatest gifts I get the privilege of experiencing.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
My clients deserve so much credit. It takes bravery and vulnerability to face your pain with a stranger and share your story. I am daily humbled, inspired, and educated by all of them. The trust people put in me is a daily gift.
My family has been my support system. My parents were huge achievers and instilled a work ethic like none other. My sister and I have gotten to work together for 20 years and push each other to grow every day. My other sister is a firefighter/paramedic and her passion for people’s health and safety is unmatched. My 2 boys inspire me daily. My older son’s tenacity for achieving his goals with an un-wavering commitment from such a young age makes you certainly reflect on your own goals. My younger son has Down Syndrome and watching him show up like a boss in a world that isn’t always open armed to him reminds me everyday to never give up as well.
My incredibly talented nieces and nephews who have clawed their way to the top of their sports with such grit and joy has continued to leave me in awe.
It is so much fun to treat everyone who comes in, like an athlete who is about to step foot into the biggest arena no matter the age, the fitness or injury level. You’d be surprised the fanfare we can create for landing a first stand up pain free out of a chair, a first squat in 10 years, or a huge PR for an actual olympic athlete. I have a long list of incredible mentors that have enabled me to cover such a vast range of current and past clients from the sharing of their invaluable knowledge and trust.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bodysolutions.org
• Other: bodysolutionsco@gmail.com